Hidden Stories
by lannistersdebt
Summary: Hermione finds a surprise in one of the library s books...


**A/N: This was written for Morning Lilies` "Photo Album Competition" :)**

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><p><strong>December 1994<strong>

Of all the students in the school, only one would prefer to spend a rare sunny day in early winter inside the building – well, inside the library to be exact. The skies were a clear, brilliant blue with only a few wispy clouds visible on the horizon. Branches on the trees of the forest swayed slightly when the wind blew, though not violently, and the temperature was pleasant enough that nobody needed their heavy coats. Several of them lay forgotten on the grass, their owners walking nearby at the edge of the lake.

Hermione sighed softly as she looked through one of the windows, watching as the scenes played out below her. While she had a lot of work that she needed to finish, she did wish that she could be as carefree as everybody else. They appeared to be having so much fun just doing nothing…. And then she caught a glimpse of black and orange hair moving side by side. A smile slid onto her face. Her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, were no doubt on their way down to the quidditch pitch. It sometimes seemed that all they cared about was the wizarding sport; they talked about it constantly and neglected homework in favor of practicing. It was no surprise to her that quidditch was the reason they had declined her invitation to study with her.

Turning away from the glass, she made her way back to a table that was already covered in books, none of which were open yet. She hadn`t actually gotten started on her work, since she had decided to look outside for a moment first. After she sat down she pulled a thick book about potions, the title of which had been worn off the spine and the covered, toward her and turned it over to the back to look in the index. The first assignment that she planned to work on was the essay that Professor Snape had assigned the class. "Three feet of parchment on a potion of your choice, include as much information on the brewing and the effects of it as possible," she muttered softly as she flipped backward the pages. She had started at the end of the alphabet, hoping to find something that interested her from the other end of the spectrum. Nothing did, however.

The last letter was A, the one she knew many people would choose potions from, but it was going to have to do. She scanned the list until she got to one word. "Amortencia." The most powerful love potion in the world. She wasn`t that big a fan of the sort, but this one would have to do; there was no doubt in Hermione`s mind that she could find plenty of information on it. "Page ninety-eight..."

A picture fell from the book when she opened it at the pages she needed, landing with the back side facing up. There was writing on the back of it, writing that she recognized. _December 24, 1985._ _Myself, Vector, Sinistra. _It was Snape`s. Curiosity piqued, she picked it up and turned it over. Snape scowled at whoever had taken the picture, his arms crossed over his chest. In his right hand he held a glass of dark red wine. His face was less lined than it currently was, but his eyes were just as dark and emotionless as she knew them to be. Behind him, the professors that Hermione assumed were Vector and Sinistra had their arms linked together in a hug. They sang, not caring how out of tune they may or may not have been, their faces red. On a table behind them sat two empty glasses, which backed up Hermione`s theory that they had been drinking. Past the table there was a door. Professor McGonagall had her hand on the knob, looking back at the photographer. She was obviously about to leave, though had paused for a second for some reason.

"I wonder what she`s doing…." She bit her lip for a second, examining the picture more closely. In the right corner, just barely visible, was a peep of red with a white ball balanced on top of it. Laughing softly so as to avoid calling Madam Pince`s attention to her, Hermione flipped the picture over again. The date on it was December 24th, which must mean that this picture had been taken at the staff Christmas celebrations. She had been wondering if they had anything of the sort and now she had her answer. Now, however, she wondered what was going on in the picture.

Ah if only she knew!

It had not been the best party that the staff had, but it also hadn`t been the worst. As usual, Severus had been the only professor who didn`t want to attend, but attend he did. Dumbledore had been in an extremely festive mood, pulling out those crackers that the former Death Eater absolutely hated to pull. Nearly every time he did he got an absolutely hideous hat and was expected to wear it. Still, since it was the Headmaster who asked that he participate in the festivities, he obliged – to an extent. He would deal with the crackers and he would deal with the obnoxious photos, but he refused to join in with the singers and the childish games.

He had been suffering through conversation with Hagrid, hoping to be saved by somebody who could have more intelligent things to say, when Flitwick had come over carrying two glasses of wine. "A drink, Severus?"

Snape had accepted, hiding how grateful he was at being saved, and then the singing had begun. His scowl only grew when he turned back to face Flitwick again and a camera flashed in his face. Dumbledore grinned from behind the contraption, his blue eyes sparkling with merriment. "I`ll be sure to get you a copy, Severus! We all deserve a momento of fabulous days spent with one another, do we not? And what better a reminder than a photograph!"

Blasted camera.


End file.
